Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Beastie Boys – Sabotage from Ill Communication (1994)

CNN – Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch of the Beastie Boys dies at 47

Adam “MCA” Yauch, a founding member of the pioneering rap band Beastie Boys, died Friday after a nearly three-year battle with cancer, the band’s publicist said.

A torrent of Twitter messages from entertainers lauded Yauch, 47, as a visionary musical artist, filmmaker and humanitarian.

“He stood for integrity as an artist. What a loss. He was a very good man,” said actor Ben Stiller.

–

The Beastie Boys, who blended punk and rap, burst on the music scene in 1986 with the album “Licensed to Ill,” which included hits such as “(You Gotta) Fight for the Right (to Party”), an anthem to teen angst; “Brass Monkey” and “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.”

The group came together for the first time to play at Yauch’s 17th birthday party, its publicist said.

Yauch was the oldest of the Beastie Boys, an only child who grew up in Brooklyn Heights, according to Current Biography magazine. The band, which also featured Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz, sold more than 40 million records and had four No.1 records.

Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

“To launch the high quality TV channel TNT in Belgium we placed a big red push button on an average Flemish square of an average Flemish town. A sign with the text “Push to add drama” invited people to use the button. And then we waited…”

Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Seal – Crazy – from his self-titled 1991 debut

Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Depeche Mode – People Are People – from Some Great Reward (1984)

Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Live – I Alone – from ‘Throwing Copper‘ (1994)

Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Def Leppard - Stand up (Kick Love into Motion) – from Adrenalize (1992)

Bonus Video:
80s Def Leppard interview (incomplete) by MTV

Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Bad Religion – 21st Century (Digital Boy) – (1994) – from Stranger Than Fiction

Wikipedia – 21st Century (Digital Boy)

“21st Century (Digital Boy)” is a song by the punk rock group Bad Religion. It was originally recorded in 1990 on their fifth full-length studio album Against the Grain and rerecorded on the 1994 album Stranger Than Fiction.

The lyrics of the song could be interpreted as a rejection of modern consumerist culture, as exemplified in the lyrics “I’m a 21st Century Digital Boy / I don’t know how to live, but I’ve got a lot of toys”. This alienation and rejection of consumerism and mainstream culture is a common theme in the music of Bad Religion.

Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning – from the album Diesel And Dust (1987)

Beds Are Burning – Wikipedia:

“Beds Are Burning” is a political song about giving native Australian lands back to the Pintupi, who were among the very last people to come in from the desert. These ‘last contact’ people began moving from the Gibson Desert to settlements and missions in the 1930s. More were forcibly moved during the 1950s and 1960s to the Papunya settlement. In 1981 they left to return to their own country and established the Kintore community which is nestled in the picturesque Kintore Ranges, surrounded by Mulga and Spinifex country. It is now a thriving little community with a population of about 400. (Kintore and the town of Yuendumu are mentioned by name in the lyrics.)

Midnight Oil performed the song in front of a world audience of millions at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The whole band were dressed in black, with the word “Sorry” printed conspicuously on their clothes.

Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Intro for the TV show The Equalizer (1985-1989), starring Edward Woodward. The theme song was composed by Stewart Copeland of The Police. While dated in many ways, I still think it’s one of the best TV show intros and the show still holds up too.

LC Insomniac Edition is a late-night series on The Left Call, intended as a break from political drama.

Blondie – Hanging On The Telephone – Parallel Lines (1978)

later covered by Def Leppard